How low-fat should my child's diet be?

Don’t restrict a child's fat intake before age 2 because that can affect brain development. Starting at age 2, your child should get 30 to 35 percent of calories from fat. And starting from age 4, your child should get 20 to 35 percent of calories from fat – or the same percentage of fat that you eat as part of a healthy diet.

Childhood is the ideal time to establish heart-healthy eating patterns that can last a lifetime. It’s great if you already offer low-fat choices to your child, like serving baked chicken instead of fried.

Milk is probably a big part of your child's diet. According to the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), ideally children should drink low-fat or fat-free milk starting at age 2. But if your child is extremely underweight, check with her doctor before switching to low-fat milk.

Fat-free milk gives your child all the protein and calcium she needs without the unhealthy saturated fat in whole milk. If your child balks at the taste of fat-free milk (also called skim milk), gradually switch from whole to 2 percent to 1 percent to fat-free. She'll probably never notice the change.

Buy low-fat versions of other dairy products. A high amount of fat, including unhealthy saturated fat and cholesterol, in kids’ diets comes from dairy products like cheese, pudding, and yogurt.

Don't stop serving them entirely – they’re great sources of bone-healthy calcium and protein. Instead, look for lower-fat versions. There are even some great tasting brands of reduced-fat ice cream and frozen yogurt available. Read food labels to avoid dairy products that are high in added sugars.

Limit fried foods, another contributor of fats in our diets. Eating fast food once or twice a month doesn't hurt; just don't make it an everyday thing. Check out the nutritional information on the restaurant's website to find out how much fat is in different fast-food meals.

Talk to your child about the importance of making healthy food choices. Read food labels with your child and let her find nutritional information about fast foods online. It will probably be a real eye-opener to learn how much fat a certain fast-food sandwich contains. This information helps your child make healthier choices.

But don't go overboard in your attempt to keep your child's diet low in fat. She still needs fat to grow and develop and can benefit from the kinds of healthy fat and other nutrients in certain foods, like peanut butter.

And be careful not to label specific foods "good" and "bad." This may only make children want the forbidden items even more and could lead to unhealthy eating habits later in life.

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